Alliances

I love the church that my wife and I attend. It’s the church that I always wanted to pastor. For example, as Kim and I were walking up to the lobby last Sunday, I told her that I first needed to stop by the men’s room. Just then, the worship band began playing their opening song, and I heard a familiar guitar riff coming through the speakers outside. I told Kim, “That’s All Because of You by U2.” I quickly bypassed the men’s room. We found seats four rows from the front, I listened to the band play the entire song, and then I quickly slipped out for a moment.

After the service, we went to the information desk so Kim could confirm some details about a missions course she’s taking. Then we bought hamburgers at the grill outside and watched the Bears pummel the Seahawks on one of five large-screen TVs in the patio area. While we were eating lunch, kids and their parents were playing football, soccer, and basketball on the fields nearby. (It’s never winter in the Phoenix area.) Yesterday someone who once attended the church termed it “Church Disneyland,” but I know what they’re doing and why: they are trying to reach spiritually lost people with the good news of Jesus and they’re doing it extremely well.

Our pastor is a truth teller and a straight talker, and I like that. Last Sunday, he used three Old Testament stories to illustrate that because we have a big God, we need to think big as well, and his message resonated with us in a powerful way. But for the third time in sixth months, he referred to an incident that happened to him years before, an occurrence that he shared with me privately before I ever heard him mention it publicly.

In the early years of the church, four staff members aligned themselves against the pastor. I don’t know what their specific charges were but they engaged in character assassination. When the pastor discovered their plot, he called a meeting of the entire church to expose them, and three of them immediately resigned. That alliance threatened the entire mission and existence of the church. The pastor survived, but it took him months to recover his drive and energy.

How often do professing Christians form alliances against a pastor? Sadly, it happens all too often. An alliance in a church can take many forms. As in the above case, staff members can form a group to force the pastor to resign. Or the governing board can initiate a “church coup” by blocking all of the pastor’s plans (and substituting their own). Or a group can engage in “secret meetings” where people make a list of charges against the pastor and then issue a series of demands, threatening to leave the church en masse if their demands are not met.

Why do people form such alliances? They do so because they feel powerless by themselves but powerful when they’re with others. As they complain to their colleagues/friends/co-workers, they discover people who agree with them and share their agenda. When they find enough willing participants, they form an unofficial group. Someone assumes leadership, they begin meeting in secret, and they’re usually willing to use any means necessary to accomplish their goal: take out the top leader.

Isn’t this what happened with Jesus? I’ve been studying The Gospels and have been surprised at how many alliances it took to execute Jesus. The Pharisees enlisted the help of the hated Herodians in trying to pummel Jesus with tough theological questions (Matthew 22:15-22). Judas struck a deal with the Sanhedrin to reveal Jesus’ whereabouts during Passover (Matthew 26:14-16). Pontius Pilate and King Herod Antipas, who did not get along, initiated a friendship after both examined Jesus (Luke 23:12). Even Israel (the Jews) and Rome (the Gentiles) had to form a partnership to eliminate Jesus. Without these “strange bedfellows” – humanly speaking – Jesus would never have been crucified.

Dr. Luke notes several of these alliances in Acts 4:25-27. After Peter and John were arrested and released by the Jewish Supreme Court, the early Christians met together and asked the Lord for boldness to share the gospel. Notice the following phrases (italics are mine):

“‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.’ Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed” (Acts 4:25-27).

When I was a pastor, I didn’t mind if a few individuals in the church complained about various matters as long as they spoke to me or another top leader directly and didn’t spread their discontent to others. I actually welcomed such complaints because there were times when people observed matters that I couldn’t possibly notice. I always thanked those who had the courage to come and speak with me personally.

But I was always on the lookout for complainers who started to form coalitions. It is not a sin to feel uncomfortable about something in a church, or to share your concern with a church leader, or even to have a conversation with another attendee about that same matter. But it is a sin to form a group within the church whose express purpose is to get its own way. And once the group begins to deliberate, it usually concludes that it cannot get its way unless it first gets rid of whoever is standing it its way – and that person is usually the pastor.

No one can ever detect every budding alliance in a church, but just determine that you will never form or join such a group.

I once met with a group of Christian clergy who were dissatisfied with the leaders of the organization that we all served. Several of these men began to suggest that we could remove the leaders and “take back” the organization. While listening to my colleagues talk, I could sense how powerful they felt. But I eventually spoke up and told my friends that I wouldn’t have anything to do with plotting against the organization’s leaders, even though I was distressed by some of their decisions. My words of protest threw a wet blanket over the whole discussion, and the leaders never again entertained the idea of overthrowing their superiors.

But I shudder to think what might have happened if I had either agreed with them or remained silent.

If you’re unhappy with your church or upset with your pastor for some reason, choose not to complain to others, even your good friends. Instead, go to the person you’re upset with and talk to them about the matter. That’s what Jesus instructed us to do (Matthew 18:15-17).

But you can form an alliance with one party: the Lord Himself. Go into your closet and have a secret meeting with Him. Unload your concerns about your church and its leaders.

Because in the long run, forming a coalition with the Father is far more effective – and uniting – than forming an alliance with any of your spiritual brothers and sisters.

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4 Responses

interesting comment re:U2 ect…didn’t get past that because of an experience i have had…i think the church has traded business model for ministry, secularism for holiness…just my little thots, i’m no expert…when i was sitting outside of a church service waiting for it to end (not in TX) i met a “hip” chick…the EXACT type of person this church and most churches would say they are catering to…her comments floored me! she said why do they do all that stuff…it’s like a club atmosphere…i can get that anywhere…all that to say Jim that i think i found a church in town to attend…a HUGE step fwd after a few yrs of wandering…built like a catherdral, stain glass, austere and warm, nice combination..and i don’t have to muddle thru all the “stuff”

I appreciate your comment, Sara. I’m glad there are plenty of different churches out there because we all need something different at one time or another in our lives. As you might recall, I grew up with more of an insulated view of the Christian faith – in fact, very fundamentalist in tone and practice. Those churches won few people to Christ and focused on minutae. When we started looking for a church a year ago, we visited many churches in our area and walked out of one when the worship team did a Led Zeppelin song during the offering! And that was a large mega church as well, but they crossed the line to be relevant. I like the balance our church has. They are trying to reach men, believing when they reach a man, they reach his family – and they are doing it. A church can be a mission or a museum, and we prefer a church that is a mission. By the way, it’s the first U2 song they’ve done on a Sunday, which is why it surprised me so much. (But when the band from Andy Stanley’s church in Atlanta was here for the Catalyst event, they performed “Where the Streets Have No Name” by U2 as well.)

I enjoyed reading the post Jim. I’ve been so troubled by the events of the past, and this helped me better understand how to be more vigilant to this kind of divisiveness, and the proper biblical response.

David, it’s so good to hear from you. I think it’s been a year, hasn’t it? I agree with you – it’s so hard to understand certain things that happen in churches. One of my mentors has told me on several occasions, “These things just don’t make sense,” but I keep trying to make sense out of them. I think of you often and would love to get together with you again someday. You’re always welcome to take a weekend off and come see us. I’ll bet Natalie is really growing! God bless you, David – and maybe you can sneak some more U2 songs into the pre-service and post-service mixes!